‘Thank you, Comelec’

DAVAO CITY, Philippines – Mayor Rodrigo Duterte welcomed yesterday the decision of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) acknowledging and accepting his substitution  for another candidate for the the May 2016 presidential race. 

“I welcome it,” Duterte said as he told the Comelec, “Thank you for being so legal about it.”

He said he was also confident that his substitution for Martin Diño as Partido ng Demokratikong Pilipino – Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban) standard bearer followed the legal process. 

Duterte said he himself is a lawyer and would know if the whole process was what the law requires. 

PDP-Laban secretary general Diño claimed yesterday’s decision was an initial victory for anti-crime advocates.

“I am very happy,” Diño told The STAR in a telephone interview, adding that PDP-Laban could now begin mobilizing supporters and allies across the country to campaign for the 2016 elections.

He admitted though that the party is expecting more attempts for Duterte’s disqualification from the presidential race. The full Comelec has yet to decided on the disqualification complaint filed by a radio broadcaster questioning the mayor’s certificate of candidacy (COC).

Diño said Comelec was aware of the clerical error in his COC, which he later withdrew after he was told to explain why he should not be considered a nuisance presidential candidate.

 Diño added that the error, which stated that he was running for Pasay city mayor instead of president, was discovered by the receiving clerk but a commissioner-on-duty gave the go signal to accept the COC because it was just a clerical error and all other entries were in order.

He also said that the error was leaked to the media a day after filing the COC. The leakage was used as basis for questioning the validity of Duterte’s COC.

The Comelec legal division earlier filed a complaint against Diño, accusing him of being a nuisance candidate. The complaint was dismissed after he withdrew the COC instead of answering the complaint. He also informed the Comelec that the party has named Duterte as his replacement.

Diño claimed that Comelec “upon review of his COC officially accepted it as COC for president not as Pasay city mayor.”

Earlier, former senator Aquilino Pimentel Jr., PDP founding chairman, also said that the question on Diño’s COC is procedural and has no impact on the validity of the document.

 “The case filed against the validity of the COC on both Diño and Duterte are procedural, unlike the case filed against Sen. Grace Poe which is substantial,” Pimentel said.

He explained that the issue against Poe involves her residency and citizenship, which are constitutional requirements for candidates running for various posts in an election. – with Perseus Echeminada